Wow, a day of adventure!

Hi and welcome back. Today marks the birthday of my daughter Sam and since she isn't here to defend herself, this is my foto I am going to use. I really don't remember if this foto was on her 3rd or 4Th birthday but oh well. She turned 18 today and that makes me old. Oh well, I may be old but I sure as hell don't feel it. I took her to lunch today and we had a great time. She had other plans after that so I took her back home and headed out on another adventure. I wanted to get some awesome sunset fotos but I'll get to that later. We headed back out to the Oquirrh mountains to follow some trails I had not finished. We started on the old power line road and followed it south. As we drove along, I noticed that the Jeep had developed a nasty rattle in the tail gate area.
I stopped a few times trying to locate it and I finally did. I discovered that the screws to the latch mechanism had all come lose. I tightened them the best I could and moved on. About every 10 minutes, I had to stop and do it over again. At one of the stops I noticed the cactus in the area were all blooming. This foto doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea. So, we got to the end of the trail and I got pissed. Whats new, right? I decided to head back to Tooele , buy a torx head socket and some Loctite and fix it right. So, back we go to Autozone , buy the damn stuff and do a parking lot repair. It said that it takes 20 minutes to work, so I figured the drive back to Ophir is at least that long so it would be ready by the time we got back. We headed back and started the 2ND trail of the day. My post in October of last year with all the fall colors was the next trail. I have never followed it to the end so today was the day.
As you can see by the foto the Jeep has lost it's doors. I decided today was the day to do it and so I did. Its really a fun drive with out the doors. I did, and still do, miss my side view mirrors and a place to rest my arm while I drive , but it was nice. I really like the openness, is that a word?, that having no doors on provides. It is so nice to be able to stick my head out and watch the tire placement as I crawled over the rocks. So, we headed up the trail and continued on from where I left off last time. I tell you, Utah has some beautiful scenery. It opened up into an incredible valley that let me see something I have been looking for since I started ghost towning.
Welcome to Mercur Utah. Or whats left of it. The town died after a fire destroyed it in the early 1900's. In the late 70's, Barrick decided to run all the left over tailing's and see what they could find. They figured it would last a few years and then they would be done. It actually lasted till the late 80's and they sent out 10 gold ingots out each week. I tried to go up there in 88, but was denied access due to them working. So I never got to see what was there...... till today. The trail led us to a nice over look that showed what was left. Barrick has come and gone but they cleaned it up and made it look some what natural now. We tried to go down and go into the area but we were met by a nice big gate that was securely locked. The Bastards! But I guess it's OK. I did finally get to see the area and someday I think I will try to find another way in. Nothing is left from the original town but it would be fun to just go and look it all over. I guess this means I am going back. Oh well...... another adventure to look forward to. WOO HOO! Stay tuned my friends...... there is always another adventure waiting to happen. Jeep on!

I live, I drive I am JEEP!

Hi there and welcome to another blog. I decided that since I have been working so much overtime, it was time to use some vacation and treat myself to a 4 day weekend. I spent yesterday changing the oil on the Jeep and mowing the grass...... being domestic I guess you could say. Today was spent out in the hills of Eureka and Jacob city. We arrived in Eureka around 11 am and went up the north end roads to see what there was to see. All of the old buildings and such have been gated off. I had to shoot this foto from across the mountain and as u can see, it is fenced in. I personally think this is bull shit but what can I do? We then went to the main mine on the east side of the town and they still allow you up to see that but that's about it. A sad note though, part of the mine dump hopper system did not survive the winter. It has collapsed and that really bites. We continued south along the edge of the mountain taking every trail we could. We found some mines they have recently sealed over and threw rocks down them. A few of them took a long time for the rocks to hit. I would really hate to fall down one of those. We went further south and up the road to Mammoth and went up and over the mountain to my favorite garbage dump. Every year new bottles appear and we got 2 on this trip. I don't think they are the 100 year old ones but they are very old. We finished by visiting both cemeteries and then headed back north to the Oquirrh mountains and Jacob city.
We went up Ophir canyon to the town and stopped in on John Skinner. He is writing the history of Jacob city and I wanted to see if the book was done. It's not. Dammit! Oh well, I asked if he had been up Dry canyon yet this year and he hadn't so I figured it was time for me to try. The road is not in very good condition and I can see why they have given it a black diamond trail rating. I have run it a bunch of times both up and down and today's trip was uneventful. The yellow Jeep had no problems and we arrived at the top in just under 20 minutes. There was snow on the trees and in some shaded areas but for the most part it was just right. That means no dust and some mud in spots. Instead of going back down Dry canyon, we took the main road and just relaxed on the way down.
When we arrived at the bottom and hit the pavement, we ran in to the boys in the foto above. There had to be nearly 20 bull elk lounging in the farmers field. I have been going up there since 1988 and I have never before seen any elk. As you can see, they are all in velvet and this guys gonna have one hell of a rack. I asked a lady who was out walking if this was common and she said every night they come down and hang out in these fields. Wow! I never knew any existed on this side of the Oquirrh's. It was getting late so we headed out to the highway and headed home. I really like days like today. I saw things I hadn't seen before and over all had a great day. I need to do this more often. Next trip, Memorial day and I'm thinking either the devils playground or Boston Terrace. Stay tuned. Jeep on my friends!

2 mountain ranges, 1 great day!

Hi and welcome to another adventure! Today was a rerun of my last trip out to the Lakeside mountains. The trip was planned to see if we could find my lost GPS and use my new one to finish exploring the mountain. The weather today was almost perfect. It was slightly overcast and somewhat on the cold side with a ton of wind but hey, I'll take any day away from work to Jeep! Well, we didn't find the GPS so that part kinda sucked, but the new one worked just fine and we were able to continue our exploration. The foto above is of the mine that I had wanted to find. It is called the Monarch mine and guess what? It's still open...... for now. That means that a return trip is now mandatory for that fact. And, we have another reason to go back now too. It seems that the Lakeside mountains are possessed. Russell started the day with his car keys in his pocket but alas, when we returned home.... they were gone! Stupid mountains. Good news is I didn't lose anything!
We crossed over the mountain and went down the east side of the range and explored a bunch of roads just to see where they went. While up one of the canyons, we came across this fine young specimen of an antelope. I used my telephoto lens and got him as he stood across the canyon. He appears to be shedding his winter coat and getting ready for summer! Wait, I'm waiting for summer too! I'm ready to lose the top and doors and feel the freedom. Is it summer yet? So, we finished exploring and made plans to return and explore the mine and look for some car keys. We made it back to Lakeside the town, ate lunch and decided the day wasn't over yet. So we headed south back to the Oquirrhs and took the new Jacob City atv trail over to Dry canyon.

The Oquirrhs are quite the opposite of the the Lakeside mountains. They still have snow and with snow you get mud! The new trail is an old one really. They took a bunch of old trails and connected them so you can go in a complete circle from the trail head to Jacob City and back. The lower section uses the old power line trail and its a blast. With this last storm we found a lot of mud holes and really slippery trails. Gotta love it! We made it up Dry canyon to the 2ND mine and at that point it was getting very greasy so we headed back down. Today was a great day. It really doesn't get much better. The last foto is me blasting one of the many mud holes we encountered. It was one hell of a hole and
I had one hell of a good time! So, I guess my next trip will involve exploring the mine before they close it and looking for lost keys. Until next time, JEEP on my friends!

Surprise Surprise......... DAMNIT!

Welcome to the 1st adventure of the year 2010! I finally got a true 3 day weekend so I decided not to waste it and went Jeeping! I met up with Sam and Josh in Salt Lake and we headed out west to find an old Lime factory called Marblehead. We stopped at Lakeside and put 12 gallons of premium in the yellow beast and began our journey. 40 miles later we stopped to top of the tank and that's where the problems began. It seems I left my new gas cap back in Lakeside. Damnit. I stuffed some paper towels in the hole and figured I would see if the cap was turned in on our way back. We took the exit and headed up the dirt road to where Marblehead was supposed to be. Notice I said supposed. We came upon a construction crew so I asked where it was. They informed me it had been torn down 2 months ago and this was all private property now. Damnit. So, we retraced our steps back to the main road and headed north into the Lakeside mountains. We followed a cow trail more or less till we found a canyon we could go up into and explore. The view from the top was great as the foto shows. This area got hammered by a snow storm Thursday and it was so beautiful. We took some fotos and saw on the GPS that there was a mine on the other side of the range, just down the road so we went down the other side. I went to look at the GPS and couldn't find it.
It was nowhere to be found. DAMNIT! We took some fotos of a stamp mills remains and headed back up the canyon to see if we could find it. No luck. Damnit! We searched all over the trail and it was not to be found. In the foto above you can plainly see it on the hood. Where it fell off is still a mystery. So, since we were in an area I wasn't familiar with, a lack of a guide made further exploration pointless. We headed back down retracing our trail but decided to follow the road up along the mountain and see where it led. It led us to the quarry of lime they had mined and back on to the private property. Instead of risking getting in trouble we turned west and blazed our own trail. This was one hell of a ride. The trail got super sandy and we had to put the pedal to the metal and fly. Josh got some of it on video and maybe if I get a copy I can put it on here. So, we made it back to the freeway and headed back to Lakeside. Low and behold the gas cap was on the pump where I left it. YAY! It was still early so we headed down to Stockton to see how high we could get up the Jacob City trail. It wasn't very far. We hit some deep snow and the Jeep couldn't go any further. Bummer. By then it was time to head for home and call it a day. I lost my GPS but I had a great time. Maybe when my taxes get back I can get another one and head back out to the Lakeside range and finish exploring it! Jeep on my friends!

It dont hurt, it itches!

I know I know, you are tired of my grossed out fotos but tough, you get to enjoy them like I am! Wait, am I enjoying this? I don't think so. Fact is, it kind of sucks! It's Saturday and the color keeps getting worse and it really itches like hell. So, since I am such a nice guy, I am sharing with you! There really isn't much pain but the itch is driving me crazy. Other than that, the recovery has been going well and I really can't complain. Other than being bored to death this isn't too bad. So, yah, not a lot to write today. Enjoy the foto and realize I'm looking forward to next year and more adventure! Jeep on my friends!

My newest scar!

Good afternoon! I just got out of surgery about 3 hours ago and I figured I would write why it's all still fresh in my stoned mind. I got to the hospital at 7:30 this morning and all was going well till they took my blood oxygen level. It seems that my pneumonia is still hanging around. The 1st reading was 90 which is not very good. They decided to consult with my surgeon and see what he thought before they continued. He came in and I explained to him that it jumps all over. So he listened to my lungs and did the test again and I passed. Woooo Hooo! The nurse came back in and continued to get me ready. I got my IV in and was ready to go. They wheeled me in to the room and the adventure began. I did notice that the room was freezing.... and no music was playing. Most of my surgeries have had some great tunes on to help the patient, me, relax. Not so today. They transferred me to the operating table and strapped me down....... my legs and both arms. Some time during this, the Dr snuck in the shot. I commented on it and he said good night. That was all I remembered till I heard the nurse saying you're back. I don't remember the trip back to the room very well but I made it and slowly started to wake up. They gave me Graham crackers and Dr Pepper and then 2 percocet. They told me I could go when I got dressed so I began that adventure. Yah, getting dressed stoned, in pain, is an adventure in itself. But, I finally made it and I got to go home. I am very sore and I am betting its only going to get worse. I am swollen and it hurts. Can't wait till I get more pills.! Anyway, the foto isn't from today, but it does show a tiny bit of the mesh that they put in me. This foto came from when he took out my appendix. Well, I am tired and I think I will go watch boring daytime TV. Jeep on my friends!

Snow Dogs

Hi there! I know, you have all been wondering where the hell I have been, but I'm back now for a brief post on the last little while. Due to some financial setbacks I have put off any fun trips till the current crisis decides to end. Plus, I have had pneumonia for the last 3 weeks and haven't worked. Sux to be me. But, that's not the best of it. I was coughing so damn hard that I gave myself what is called an incision hernia. Where the Dr. cut me open to remove my appendix, the area around it isn't as strong anymore so when I coughed it ripped and now I have a nice bulge that needs to be fixed. Oh well. The weather has been crazy this year. We had some very cold temperatures this past week. It was below 0 a number of times. I actually had to use my wood burning stove to help my furnace out. But, we are saved from the cold now........ it snowed! We have gotten over 12" the last 24 hours. This was the first real snow the kids have actually seen and they love it.
They had a blast out front running and jumping through it. But like typical sisters, it turned into a fight. If you look close above, you can see Twinkie with her teeth bared. It was fun to listen to their jaws snapping closed as they basically tried to kill each other. I guess the cold doesn't bother them too much because during the time outs they just laid down in it and relaxed. As you can see, they are getting big. I don't know how much they weigh but they have to be pushing 60lbs. They are not as tall as Dazee was yet, but I think it will come. They just hit 10 months old and they are still crazy puppy dogs. Well, enough for now. I imagine my next post will be fotos from my surgery so stay tuned! Jeep on my friends!